


Crossroads

by TheSmallishOne



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance | BSAA, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Death Threats, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Family Angst, Family History, Family Secrets, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Lies, Minor Character Death, Survivor Guilt, Swearing, Vendettas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28761015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSmallishOne/pseuds/TheSmallishOne
Summary: She was raised by people who weren't really her parents. Her life moulded around lies. But she knew she was adopted, long before her real father, Billy Coen, turned up on their doorstep in 1997. They never spoke of her birth mother, or what they did for a living -everything seemed to be a secret, or disguised with more lies. Until she joins the BSAA in 2009, survives her first mission gone terribly wrong, and catches the eye of a certain woman in Marhawa, things start to truly unravel. It isn't until their latest mission in Edonia that truths start to be revealed -and nothing prepares her for the impact it'll have on her life, where she finds herself at a daunting set of crossroads: stay with the BSAA for the right cause - or follow Ada Wong for the complete truth, no matter what it takes.A lead up to Piers x OC Erin Coen
Relationships: Piers Nivans/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Prologue - 1997

**1997**

**x-x-x**

"Erin,"

A small girl looked up from the far too advanced book she'd been reading to land on her mother, bright blue eyes large and curious as they settled over the small brunette woman in the living room doorway -her posture stiff and smile strained.

"There's someone here who'd like to see you, sweetie."

Placing a worn wolf bookmark between the pages she was on, the six year old stood from the beige armchair, brushing out the creases in her pleated skirt, and made her way towards the woman. "Who is it, mumma?"

The tightness of the woman's smile only grew, and saying nothing she placed a hand on the child's back and guided her to another room where a military uniformed man sat casually, yet there was a tenseness to his shoulders. She felt her stomach knot nervously as she met eyes the exact same piercing blue as her own; his stern-looking face was young and lethal, though handsome. Her small hand gripped her mother's, not going unnoticed by the man, but he said nothing on it -instead, he let out a small sigh and gave a small smile to the girl, extending his hand to her.

"Billy Coen, kid. You gotta be Erin, right?" Hesitantly, and with begrudging approval from her mother, she let go of her mother's hand and walked the short distance between the two, placing her small hand in his palm, her large eyes boring into his nervously.

"I-I'm Erin Crawford, sir." He frowned lightly at the mention of her surname, glancing up at the woman who did anything to avoid eye contact, and sighed once again.

"That's not quite right, kid. Y'see, your name is Erin _Coen._ I'm your real, uh... father."

"She's too young to understand-" Her mother heatedly cut in, only to be stopped by the male's glare and Erin's fingers wrapping around her own.

"I know I'm adopted mumma. I saw the papers when you were busy and papa was at work." She quietly admitted, shamefully lifting her orbs to settle on the man across from her. He at least gave her a smile, the sharpness in his blue, blue eyes softening at the young girl.

"Smart kid," Billy praised, before clearing his throat and sitting straighter; gaze shifting from his young daughter to the shocked brunette woman. "I didn't come here to cause any conflict, or disrupt your lifestyles; honestly I just found out about Erin recently and jumped the gun. I didn't realise -if I had known Hannah was... gone, or even pregnant for that matter, I would have taken responsibility sooner. She just upped and left without a word." He sighed, racking a hand through his slicked back hair and tousling it from its gelled confines. "I just want to say thanks, for taking care of her in our places. And if it's not too much trouble, to see her every now and then? I'll pay for anything she needs, or monthly allowances. Whatever works best for you." The woman squirmed under his gaze, though she couldn't help but catch the slight amount of desperation in his tone -what would be the right thing to do? He had such a regal air about him despite the uniform, but the way he looked at _his_ daughter -the lengths he was willing to go, yet promising to not disrupt their life; it had her thinking.

"I s-suppose... I suppose I can't stop you, you're -you're part of her life whether we like it or not. She has the right to know and see her biological father -we can't take that away from her. She's a very bright girl for her age." Smiling softly, she placed a loving hand on the little girl's chocolate coloured locks, prompting large crystal blue eyes to look up at her in childish innocence.

Billy Coen let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, smiling genuinely at the woman caring for his daughter. "Thank you... You don't know how much that means to me."

**Eight years later:-**

_**The incident reported at Harvardville Airport has claimed to have taken a number of lives; only a small handful of survivors remain unharmed -a statement claiming Dr. Frederic Downing was responsible for the attack, using the WilPharma Corporation as a means to release a deadly virus upon the residents of the United States, though the United States Army Rangers were immediately called in and handled the situation. During this incident, a fourteen year old girl put her life on the line to help evacuate trapped survivors and has been taken into protective custody, awaiting any relatives to step forward, due to the unfortunate death of her parents-** _

Erin Crawford-Coen sat stiffly in too-big clothes in the dining chair opposite Claire Redfield and her brother, the latter assessing her with sharp hazel eyes that made the hairs on her neck stand on end in discomfort. Claire elbowed her brother in the ribs, jarring him out of his thoughts and relieving the scrutinising glaze from his line of sight.

He cleared his throat, an apologetic lilt to his lips as he laced his fingers together above the table and addressed her. Even the simple motion had his massive biceps flexing.

"Claire told me all about Harvardville. You've got no other relatives you could go to? Aunts, uncles? Your... father?" Truth be told, he knew it was far-fetched to ask about her father as well as a touchy subject -the man had been missing since 1998 when all shit went to hell; whether he was even still alive was a mystery. Erin's piercing blue eyes narrowed at him; a frown pulling at her lips until she settled her gaze to her lap where her hands fidgeted.

"No... My mother was never my real mother -my real mum, Hannah, died I think...- and she had no siblings. Her parents died when I was one, so there's no one." Swallowing a lump forming in her throat, her fingers grasping the dog tag given to her on _that day_ , the pad of her thumb running over the many ridges lining the metal.

"M-my father... Because of work, I didn't see him as much as I would've liked. I first met him when I was six years old, the last time was when I was nine, to give me this," She motioned to the dog tag around her neck, eyes misting slightly. "He looked different -like a c-criminal, and there was so much _horror_ and coldness in his eyes. But he t-told that no matter what, he loved me and to stay s-safe. I haven't seen him since, but every year on my birthday he'd send me something -though there never was a return address."

Chris Redfield nodded, scribbling down something on a notepad, before glancing at his sister. She was frowning down at the table, a single finger tapping the wood as she battled with something internally, teeth scraping her lower lip.

After a few moments, her hand slapped down on the glossy wood making both Chris and Erin jump in their seats, her determining gaze focused on the fourteen year old girl.

"Alright, I've decided. You're still staying with me, Erin. It doesn't feel right after everything you've been through, and you even had both mine and Leon's back at the airport. You've got a good head on your shoulders."

Smiling, Chris reached over the desk and patted the young girl on the shoulder. "I think that's for the best, kid. Just don't let her boss you around, she's pushy like that."

"Shut up, Chris!"

Cracking a smile at the sibling's behaviour, Erin gratefully nodded. She grasped at the memento her father left her, taking a deep breath and steeling her nerves, before looking at them both with determination. "I know I'm not old enough yet, but I want to help. If stuff like this keeps occurring around the world; kills hundreds, if not thousands of people, then I want to help stop it. I know what I'm asking and what I'm getting myself into; but I want to fight against bioterrorism, like you both. I want to join the B.S.A.A."


	2. Chapter One

Four years had passed since the Harvardville Airport; since my resolve to join the BSAA. It had been hard convincing the Redfield siblings -mainly Claire, to let me have any further involvement with bioterrorism. For one, I was still only fourteen at the time with, as Claire put it, so much more to live and strive for than putting my life at constant risk. Though luckily, I had the backing of Chris who managed to persuade her:

" _ I say we give her a chance; she's proven herself capable of handling a firearm, and she thinks quickly in worst-case scenarios. Plus it's not so easy to continue life like normal after witnessing and going through something like that -it stays with you, whether you like it or not." _

Now clad in the very uniform of the corporation I'd fought tooth and nail to get into, I felt as though I was finally on the starting track to make a difference. I'd made a silent promise to my father, wherever he was; I'd survive no matter what and prove that I’m more than just the name of his I carry -I wouldn’t let his sins drag me down. 

"Caraway team; an upcoming mission brief is in fifteen minutes. Please assemble in the meeting room, location seven a.s.a.p." A male baritone voice called out over the speakers and over the sound of gunfire in the shooting range. ' _ Fifteen minutes, huh? That room is only upstairs and down the hall, giving me at least five more minutes practise. I wonder why they're sending us on a mission so soon?'  _ I thought, readjusting my noise cancelling headphones and lining my sight down the scope of my sniper again to the head of my moving target. My breathing evened, shoulders relaxed and stance perfect as I held my finger over the trigger. ' _ Not quite… Not quite… Now!' _

With a muffled bang and a blink from the slight recoil, a hole shot straight through the forehead of my target, ' _ Bullseye.'  _ The next three targets I shot in the heart as inclined, and the last five perfect headshots. Satisfied, I flipped the safety back on my gun and pulled off my headphones, just catching the echo of a whistle following my last shot.

"I heard rumours of a rookie with an excellent shot, the best of the best, but I wasn't sure it was you until I saw that. Nice work, kiddo." Chris Redfield stood at the top of the small set of stairs, a proud grin on his face as I caught his sombre eye. I felt the corners of my own mouth curl into a smile and cheeks flush as I emptied the remaining bullets and popped them into slots on my belt before slinging the strap of the gun onto my shoulder, signing out of my shooting booth.

"Long time no see, Chris. No way am I the best -there's plenty of others with a quicker, preciser shot than me. I only got scouted so quickly because you put in a good word for me at the academy -compared to some of the others with military backgrounds, I've still got a lot to learn." I laughed, making my way over to him. He gave me the usual clap on the shoulder that turned into a brotherly side-hug as we made our way down the hall and to the elevator to go up.

"Such modesty, but in my eyes you'll be in Alpha in no time." I threw him a look of disbelief that he rolled his eyes at. "Okay, okay, I'll say no more. In all seriousness, looking forward to your mission? I heard there's a few pretty good rookies in your team, including you. Don't let them outdo you, kid." He gave my shoulder a nudge with his just as the elevator doors pinged open and we stepped out opposite a row of lockers. I walked down past a few until I came to mine, unlocking it and placing my gun and equipment inside.

"Hey, despite what I said I still spent four years training my butt off and even sparred the legendary  _ Chris Redfield  _ and lived to tell the tale _ ,  _ no way am I going to let those guys outdo me _. _ "

His surprisingly loud laugh was all I got as I walked off ahead of him, a large grin on my lips as I looked back over my shoulder, pleased to see the hard edge gone from his face, if only for a moment. "But I'll do my best on this mission and not let my team down. I'll make it to the top and get into Alpha; I promise you, Chris."

**x-x-x**

Exactly on the hour, Captain Caraway stood before us all, scanning over our mission pack. After what felt like three-quarters of an hour, but actually only ten, he finally spoke; looking each one of us in the eye. I felt as though his sight lingered longer on me as our eyes met, his brows furrowed slightly until he finally looked away, a tension I hadn’t realised had formed between my shoulders relaxing as he continued speaking. "Our mission specs are to investigate a certain group's importing of bioweapons in Iceland. You will each, in your respective two-man squads, gather data and infiltrate the specified target zones, and confirm any B.O.W activity. Neutralise only if possible. Do  _ not  _ tackle more than you can handle." He handed us printed copies of the mission brief to go over including locations, witness reports; as well as confirmation on our partners. "Greenland and myself. McMillan you're with Donnahov. And Coen with Anderson. Make sure your equipment is up to scratch and ammo capacities full; our flight out is at 04:00 A.M sharp in two days time. Any questions, let me know before we depart. If you have none now, get yourselves ready and rest up. Dismissed." At his dismissal and no questions from the rest of us, we each left with our set partners to gather everything necessary.

**x-x-x**

Two days and sixteen hours later my team had been dropped off, pair by pair, to our drop-off points -small remote towns a few miles out, as to not draw attention to ourselves, in the bitter cold. That was just over two weeks ago, and despite it only being close to the middle of April the temperature only seemed to drop as we travelled north by foot and scoped out our set zone with still no solid information to report. I'm glad now for bringing light winter gear; though it wasn't  _ too  _ cold, it was still temperatures below what I was used to, especially roughing it outside the past few weeks. Just the thought made me burrow further into my thick grey snood as the chilled wind bit into my face.

I'd just finished my rations and reported to HQ when Liam Anderson, possibly the only one on the team who hadn’t regarded me warily, signalled me to lay low, his dark brown eyes narrowed as he scanned the pitch-black road ahead of us from behind our makeshift 'camp' at the edge of the woods, a little ways off from an old abandoned factory. I doused the small fire between us, making sure no smoke emitted from the dead embers, before crouching behind a thick tree and reaching for my binoculars.

"I heard the sound of an engine just up ahead -there's been no signs of transport going along this road at all, let alone cars; what do you see?" The sandy haired male whispered, crouching to my left behind a bush and squinting through the dark. There was nothing I could immediately see with it being so dark, until a flicker of shadowy movement caught my attention along with a faint rumble of an engine.

"I see something… I think a truck by the sounds of it, going into the target zone. Could be the lead we've been waiting for."

"Shit, let's go. If it's the guys we're after, we can block them off before they drop off any bioweapons." We grabbed our gear quickly, carefully stepping out of the coverage into bare fields and following the same route we took three days ago; it being dark with the moon peeking behind the clouds every so often helped -until we came across a patch of foliage and trees that stood not far from the enormous, abandoned-looking warehouse that we used to scope the area once again.

"Coen to HQ, we've sighted a vehicle entry at the distribution centre -the abandoned factory on route two-eight-two from our previous report. No signs of hostiles so far -myself and Anderson will proceed further inside." Fog swirled in front of my face as I spoke into my earpiece, deeming it safe enough to speak lowly. My six foot three partner kept point watch, his face set in a serious frown and hands clutching his rifle readily, unbothered by the cold air that numbed my nose.

"HQ to Coen; roger that. Proceed with caution."

We did just that; keeping low behind the leafy bushes and our steps light, eyes sharp on our surroundings as we crept closer to the massive building. Liam took leadership, his crouched gait poised with a lethal professionalism I could only hope to gain with more field experience, his frown deepening as the minutes ticked by and no sign of life appeared.

"This is strange," He murmured quietly, peering around the side of the parked and empty truck to eye an old, mossy fire exit left ajar. "If this is one of their bases, there should be signs of guards at least patrolling -yet there's been nothing. It's quiet… Too quiet." Nodding, I agreed wholeheartedly with him -something was off, and I'd hoped after three days keeping watch on the warehouse gave us at least something to work with, but it seemed only more questions kept arising. Where were the signs of bioweapons from the report, and the driver of the truck? I wondered how the others were fairing...

"Nothing much else for us to do except to proceed further inside. Somewhere along the line we're bound to find something, or someone." I reasoned quietly, somehow keeping my tone calm and shrugging off the pit of unease surfacing again in my stomach.

"You're right -keep your eyes peeled and guard up." With guns raised we rushed the fire exit, each taking a side of the creaky door and pressing ourselves against the wall. No sound came from inside, and catching Liam's eye I nodded. A silent countdown between us commenced, Liam sliding through the gap and myself following a couple of seconds after he gave the all clear and nothing crept up behind us, the flashlights on our jackets flickering on to light the eerie darkness.

The immediate area sat in empty silence, not even a creak or clang of anything further inside; the building unease inside me creating a cold sweat to gather along my spine despite the chill in the air. I licked my dry lips and pulled my scarf further up my chin, obeying Liam's hand signal to follow him past the emergency stairs around the holes in the ground and isles of high steel beams supporting the barren floors above; a hint of moonlight shining through the destroyed roof, dusk glittering in a false impression of snow -nothing had changed from our last visit. But the further in we went there seemed to be signs that someone, or something, had been here recently -a large, gaping hole in the centre of the factory with dark liquid substances splattered across the cemented ground. Something that  _ definitely _ wasn't here a few days ago.

"Those containers weren't here when we checked last time…" Liam murmured, cautiously stepping towards the large, haphazardly stacked pods against the brickwork wall; the highest one bending a run of steel overhead.

"None of this was here three days ago… What the heck?" I breathed, eyeing an ominous-looking dent in the bottom container, my fingers tightening on my assault rifle. "I have a bad feeling about this, Liam -my b.o.w senses are tingling."

I heard a rush of air leave his nose in a silent huff of a bewildered, slightly disbelieving laugh, but his own posture stiffened in readiness as we warily passed the bottom metal confinement, eyes ever watchful.

Despite all my training in stealth and the like, I cursed as I felt my boot catch a piece of stray rubble from the destroyed cemented ground, the rolling clatter seemingly echoing endlessly in the quiet building.

A loud bang sounded from inside the container, and my pulse skyrocketed as adrenaline kicked in. We both fixed the sights of our weapons on the dented doors as the banging continued, becoming more and more aggressive as we stepped back.

"I don't know what's in there, but whatever it is, there's more than one. We need to move to higher ground and find the owner of that truck before it breaks out-" Just as the words left Liam's mouth, a booming clang sounded off at the opposite end of the factory, the sound echoing followed by a monstrous screech. " _ Shit. _ Go, go!"

We ran as quietly and swiftly as possible, eyes darting across the darkness at the smallest shadowy movement, until we found a set of rusted stairs leading up.  _ 'Please don't break-' _ Liam yelled out as though my thoughts jinxed us, the stairs crumbling under him halfway up -my movements quick to grab his outstretched hand as he made a leap up before the whole thing collapsed. His weight strained on my arm and shoulders, but I grit my teeth and helped pull him up until he reached a better footing.

A deafening clang reached our ears, a vicious growl that stood the hairs on the back of my neck on end close by, our climbing rushed as we made it higher up on the platforms, drawing our weapons and standing back-to-back.

"Well, well…" Liam cocked his gun as my shoulders tensed, aiming his rifle behind us as a smooth male voice spoke out sounding every bit the typical villain. I could see from the corner of my eye with the moon shining overhead a figure move, but didn't let my sight stray too far from what could be coming up in front of us. "Looks like the B.S.A.A took the bait after all. Too bad there's only two of you -I was hoping to expect more to test on, but it seems I'll have to make do."

"What goddamn bait? Who the hell are you!" I heard the man bark out a laugh before the floor under our feet lurched with a screech of steel, and suddenly we were airborne. I swallowed a surprised yell and threw myself onto the top of an adjacent platform, the metal frame wobbling as the support beams crashed down on it behind me. "Liam!" The flash of his torch a bit ahead of me turning my way had me relax, only just, as I pulled myself to my feet and ran towards the tall form of my sandy-haired partner, but a distorted thump had me staggering mid-sprint, followed by a terrifying shriek and Liam's panicked shout of, "Erin get down!"

I was ducking into a crouch not even a second after he yelled, a forceful gust of air sweeping across where my head had just been. Vicious bloodied claws attached to a green, scaly arm gleamed from the corner of my widened eye, propelling me to continue my sprint with renewed vigour.  _ 'Fuck fuck fuck! What the hell is a Hunter doing here?!'  _ With hurried hands, I grabbed a flash-bang from my belt and ripped the pin away, throwing it behind me while instantaneously yelling, "Threw a flash -close your eyes and turn away, Liam!"

I threw an arm over my eyes, clenching them closed tightly as the ring of the flash grenade going off engulfed the factory in white-light. I didn't once slow down my pace despite the risk of falling off the platform, hoping to whatever Deity I didn't do just that.

It only took a few seconds for the light to fade, my body twisting and ponytail whipping my cheek as Liam and I immediately fired rounds into the things tough hide, my mind running a mile a minute.  _ 'This isn't any ordinary Hunter; it's been mutated -that man, he mentioned testing something on us; did he mean this?'  _ My eyes darted across its massive body; its razor sharp teeth and claws, and its near impenetrable scaly skin.  _ 'Regular bullets won't cut it, and we sure as hell don't have a rocket launcher… What else has pretty heavy firepower…? Shotgun!' _

"Liam, did you bring your shotgun?" I chanced a glance over at him, seeing the sweat forming on his face from the reflection of our torches, his lips quirking up as he caught onto my line of thoughts.

"Like I would ever go anywhere without it."

"Good. We need a distraction just long enough to swap over guns-" A whip, or what I thought was a whip at first glance -if it wasn't for the pinkness and saliva trailing across it, suddenly latched onto my wrist and dragged me forward, my assault rifle falling from my hands and a scream tearing from my throat as the unscathed hunter leaped for me.

**x-x-x**


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was raised by people who weren't really her parents. Her life moulded around lies. But she knew she was adopted, long before her real father, Billy Coen, turned up on their doorstep in 1997. They never spoke of her birth mother, or what they did for a living -everything seemed to be a secret, or disguised with more lies. Until she joins the BSAA in 2009, survives her first mission gone terribly wrong, and catches the eye of a certain woman in Marhawa, things start to truly unravel. It isn't until their latest mission in Edonia that truths start to be revealed -and nothing prepares her for the impact it'll have on her life, where she finds herself at a daunting set of crossroads: stay with the BSAA for the right cause - or follow Ada Wong for the complete truth, no matter what it takes.   
> A lead up to Piers x OC Erin Coen

A scream of “Fuck!” tore from my throat as the Licker dragged me forward, right towards the leaping Hunter’s extended claws, its slimy tongue wrapped around the flesh of my right arm. 

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Liam yelled my name, the sound of my blood rushing in my ears as the b.o.w came at me.  _ ‘No way am I dying like this… Not when I’ve only got this far...!’  _ I felt my teeth gnash together as I desperately looked around me, trying to form some sort of plan -and quick. ‘ _ With the height the Hunter leapt, I could… go right under it!’ _

In a split-second I dropped down, letting the forceful tug of the Licker drag me across the steelworks and towards it as the Hunter leapt over me with a snarl, quickly grabbing my Beretta M9 from its holster with my free hand and aiming it steadily at the skinless creature. I shot it six times in the head and chest until it went slack with a shriek; the tongue around my wrist slackened enough for me to slide free back onto my feet the same time as multiple loud shots rang out behind me.

“Hey Erin! A little help would be nice!” I whipped around just as Liam rolled to the side, avoiding the claws aimed to maim him as they sank into the metal flooring where he stood not moments before. He was quick to jump back to his feet, pumping shotgun shells into the Hunter’s seemingly impenetrable hide and dodging deadly swipes.

I could see my assault rifle laying off to the side and darted towards it; my fingers just wrapping around it when something large barrelled into me, knocking the air from my lungs and the gun from my hand with a pained shout. A hissing, insect-like noise snarled in my ear as I struggled to lift the heavy weight and whatever had pierced through my side from me, my eyes and brain unable to make out what the hell was attacking me. All I knew was that it was bad news, and disgusting.

“Fuck, what the hell is that?!” Another few rounds of shots rang in my ears until a heavy thump hit against the flooring, but I couldn’t afford to look away from the monstrosity trying to kill me to check on Liam. 

“ _ That  _ would be my lovely modification to a Chimera. Marvelous, isn’t it?” I grit my teeth against the pain as the unknown male’s gleeful voice rang out from above us, my arms straining as I kept the thing from tearing into me.

“Yeah, very fucking lovely, would’ve been all the better if you didn’t unleash these damn things, you psycho!” I heard a ‘tsk’ above the growls and snarls, my head tossing to the side to avoid being impaled by the creature’s sharp spider-like legs as it screeched at me with a gaping maw. I wouldn’t be able to hold it with one arm if I went to grab for my knife, leaving me struggling for options. 

I didn’t have to hold out long, though, as a bullet buried into the side of the thing’s head and threw it off of me, the all too familiar sound of a shotgun ringing in the air. 

“You alright?” I twisted my head to find Liam standing over me, a splatter of blood across his face and neck but overall uninjured. He held out a hand to me, eyes on the purpley-red skinned Chimera pulling itself back up, and I quickly took it with my left, flinching at the stinging burn above my hip. “I will be once this bastard’s put down. Thanks.” 

I caught my breath and swept my sight across the floor, trying to find my gun before the b.o.w came at us again, spotting it just on the edge of the platform and made a grab for it while holding my bleeding side.

“Try as you might, there’s only two of you and plenty more of my pets. Though you are giving me plenty of combat data, you won’t be getting out of here alive. Just like those others sent out to two more of my units.” 

I picked up my rifle, checked the safety was off, and opened fire into the Chimera’s pulsing chest; lighting the area with the blaze of bullets. It screeched and thrashed, charging towards me even as black blood sprayed from its flesh, and I had to duck and roll to avoid the razor-like insect arm about to slice across my throat. It sent flaring pain to my injury and I had to bite my tongue to stop the scream building in my throat.

Liam shot at it until his gun clicked empty, swearing loudly as the thing turned its attention on him. “Once we’re done with this, HQ won’t mind if that fucker up there has missing legs when we bring him in, right?” He asked as he fluidly switched back to his assault rifle, clicking the safety off and firing into the thing’s gaping mouth.

“Nah, it’ll make the flight back messy. Maybe break his jaw, we won’t have to listen to his pompous voice for a while.” I called out loudly, panting as the adrenaline began to fade, and chanced a glance up to see if I could see the man, but could see nothing but darkness as the clouds shrouded the moon’s light once again.

“Sounds like a plan.” There was a hint of laughter in Liam’s voice even as he ducked from a sure hit to the head and rounded the b.o.w until he stood by me. “Let’s take this ugly motherfucker down.” 

We lifted our weapons, aiming the sights down to the mass on the Chimera’s chest and head, and fired simultaneously. It screeched with piercing loudness as its chest and skull burst open, blood and other disgusting substances splashing against the tops of our boots, before dropping down with a thud. I shot it a few more times, just to be sure it was dead -Liam throwing me a look that I shrugged at.

“What? Better to be safe than sorry.” He just rolled his eyes at me and stepped over the large human-bug corpse, rounding a bend to a set of stairs that led up and towards the psycho behind this fuck-up of a mission. 

“Let’s go before more of those damn things turn up. Contact HQ; let them know we’ll be needing backup, and a truck for arrest.” I nodded, not that he could see it, as I followed him up the stairs, albeit at a limped pace.

“Or a body bag…” I muttered, finger hovering over my radio just as Liam said, “I heard that.”

Choosing to ignore him I pressed the receiver, “Coen to HQ, we’ve encountered mutated versions of b.o.w’s mentioned in the 1998 Spencer Mansion report, as well as an unknown male responsible for them. We’re going to need backup asap -from what we’ve seen and heard from the suspect, there’s containers filled with them -we’re not sure how they got here after we checked the place over three days ago; we won’t be able to take them down on our own.” I released the transmitter and pressed down on my wound, feeling the warm sticky blood seeping beneath the leather of my gloves. 

“HQ here, we’ve received similar reports from Caraway before we lost contact, and there’s been no news from McMillan’s team -we’re sending out back-up as we speak. Keep pursuit; find that man and detain him, we need him alive for information. Avoid further b.o.w’s if possible. Over.” 

I glanced up as Liam looked back at me, his eyebrows pinched together. “I take that as Caraway got taken out, and it doesn't sound good for the others. Looks like we’re on our own for a while. Are you still good to go?” He eyed the blood soaking my jacket and glistening in the light from his torch, a frown marring his face. I gave him a weak grin that felt more like a grimace; not exactly convincing.

“Shit, how bad did it get you? We’re going to need to find a safe spot to stop so we can bandage you up, at least. Can you hold on until then?” Swallowing back a joke as I doubted he’d see the funny side of it, I gave a small nod and spoke seriously.

“Went right through. Don’t think it punctured anything, but it’s bleeding a lot; I’m more worried about being infected, though. You saw how gross that thing was…” We made it to the top of the stairs, weapons ready and eyes scanning for any sign of threat before Liam deemed it clear enough to reply.

“That’s good enough, I guess. You got a first aid kit on you, right? And no, I don’t think so -but tell me if you start feeling any different, alright? Don’t want you turning and chowing down on me with my back turned.” Okay, so much for holding back on the jokes when he was cracking them out himself, but at least it brought a snort of amusement from me.

“You two just don’t give up, do you? Looks like the modified Chimera was a no-go… What will it take for one of you to die, I wonder…” Our guns were up and pointing at the male leaning against a steel beam a few meters in front of us, all jokes swept aside as we warily approached the man. “I  _ was  _ saving my best until last, but maybe I should give in and let you have a go at it. Tell me, have you heard of or  _ seen _ a Tyrant? There’s been a few modifications throughout the years, though I recon mine far surpasses them all -possibly on the same level as the Nemesis project, if not better. How about you find out and tell me, hmm?” Before we had time to react he’d already pressed a small trigger he had hidden in his jacket pocket, a beeping piercing the air just before another loud clang echoed its way up. I held my gun steady despite my pulse escalating at the thundering steps below, aiming at his chest. 

“Just who are you? What’s your goal for doing this?” 

“My name? Oskar Ramos. My goal? Hmm.. well, in simple terms it’s to continue where Umbrella left off.  _ I want to create another Raccoon City _ !” The heavy steps were just under us, my grip twitching around my gun, but I made no move to lower my weapon to face the oncoming threat even as sweat trickled down the side of my face and the man, Oskar, even seemed a little worried despite his twitching grin; as his eyes darted behind me -his adam’s apple bobbing fervently. 

“There’s no way to call the Foulseeker -my variant of the Tyrant- off. If it kills me, it’s end game, and you lose either way! There’ll be no information for you to bring back to your precious BSAA!” I bared my teeth at him as the heavy clanging footsteps came dangerously close to the top of the stairs, the blood on my gloves making my grip on my rifle slick; sweat stinging my eyes. “Erin…” Liam warned, glancing over at us as a large, foreboding shadow rose from the corner of my eye.

“Fuck… I’m not letting you go to cause shit elsewhere! This ends tonight, Oskar, one way or another. We  _ will  _ survive and we  _ will  _ hunt you down! You’re not escaping here!” I heard fast retreating steps as I swivelled around to face the monstrosity Oskar the fucking psycho coward created -far from the picture of a Tyrant that Claire told me about. The Foulseeker, as he called it, towered over us in a hulking mass of crimson, mottled skin -pulsating veins running across its wide chest and down its bulging, muscled arms that weren’t covered by restraints. A set of vicious blade-like claws hung from one enormous hand, while the other wielded a deadly looking firearm, its once human looking face tilting to glare down at us with hellish red eyes. It didn’t quite match the description of what I’d read of the Nemesis from Jill Valentine’s 1998 report either; unless this fucker had further mutations, too, going by the restraints. I really,  _ really _ hoped not, it looked deadly enough as it was.

“I really hope backup gets here in the next few minutes, because we are so fucked.” As if to prove my words, a Licker swooped out of nowhere to attack us, only to be sliced into pieces by the Foulseeker’s claws. So it obviously didn’t care for friend or foe -we’re definitely fucked.

“Yeah, no shit. We need to run -get some space between us and find a way to take this mother of fucks down.” In sync we turned and sprinted down the length of the flooring, dodging the gatling of bullets it sent our way by turning onto a narrow supported metal beam not meant for walking on, let alone running on, and having to jump over a series of pipes wasn’t doing me any favours as flares of white-hot pain liked to remind me of the hole in my side. 

“Just hang in there, Erin!” I panted as I tried to keep pace with Liam, but I could feel myself falling behind even as I pushed myself harder against the searing throb bleeding into my hip and thigh, slowing me down.

It didn’t take long for shit to go sideways as the Foulseeker stepped onto the beam and shot up overhead; an ominous groan resonating as clinks of metal dropped down around me, making me stop to miss the rain of broken metal; the support beam holding part of the floor above giving way with a screech before crashing down in front of me, cutting me off from Liam and sending me toppling off the edge of the narrow beam I stood on. 

I gave a scream as I lurched to the side, smacking my shoulder against the metal and crying out as I scrambled to grab onto something to stop my fall, my left hand latching onto an old pipe for dear life even as it groaned under my weight.

“Erin? Erin!” From the corner of my eye I could see Liam pushing through a gap between the wreckage, his head swivelling until he saw me trying desperately to pull myself back up. “Fuck, hang on, I’ll try and get back over!” A grunt was all I could give, the taste of iron rolling on my tongue making my stomach turn along with the aching throbs and burning pain along my body.

Heavy footsteps navigated along the narrow beam, sending vibrations through the pipe I gripped and chilling the blood in my veins as fiery red eyes locked onto me. “Oh you got to be fucking kidding me…!” Panic kicked in when it aimed its heavy powered gun at me, sweat trickling down my back and a strained yell tearing from my lips as I tried to pull myself up, just managing to grab the ledge of the beam with one hand when the pipe gave way. I felt my eyes widen as fear gripped my chest, a gasp the only thing I could manage when I felt gravity pull me down, Liam’s shout the only thing ringing in my ears when something hit the side of my head and darkness washed over me.

**-x-x-x-**

I awoke to excruciating pain electrifying my entire left side and a sharp, stinging burn across my face; a hiss sounding between my clenched teeth as I tried to pry my eyes open but only managing to peel them slightly ajar. The skin around my right eye cracked and pulled, warm wetness trickling down my cheek -I must’ve cut it somehow from the fall.

The memory of falling flooding back made my heart give an unsteady thump, eyes darting upwards and just making out the broken rubble of the hole we’d seen near the centre of the warehouse, small pieces of rubble clattering down onto the ground next to me.  _ ‘How the hell am I still alive from that fall...? And how long was I out for? Shit… I hope Liam’s okay...’ _

Pushing the thoughts to the back of my head for now, I attempted to gingerly push myself up and bit back a cry when my shoulder and hip protested, a wash of burning, horrid pain stabbing into my whole side; my breath huffing noisily once I managed to get back on my feet, albeit unsteadily and with a pounding forming in my skull. I swept my slightly fuzzy sight across the ground for my rifle, eyeing the large empty space around me with a corridor that led to a set of sealed doors. A mangled corpse sat off to the side, limbs missing -I glanced back up at the hole and down to the body, realising whoever they were, they’d stepped into a trap most likely set for Liam and me; ‘ _ Wrong place, wrong time for urban exploring, I guess…Poor guy.’  _ I tore my eyes off of the corpse and spotted my rifle laying just off to the side, my shoulders sagging in relief that it was still in one piece. 

The first step forward nearly brought me down to my knees and I breathed heavily through my mouth, willing the tears of frustration and hurting back that threatened to spill. “Baby steps, Erin… Baby steps…” Going at a pace that felt slower than a snail, I dragged myself over to my gun and bit my lip hard enough to draw blood as I bent to retrieve it. A short buzz had me tense when the red light above the locked doors flashed to green and hissed open to reveal an elevator shaft, flooding the corridor in bright light; suspicion and adrenaline pumping through my veins.  _ Oskar... _

I held my assault rifle up, gritting my teeth at the sharp pain in my ribs and shoulder at the sudden movement, but nothing immediately came out to attack me. Even so, I didn’t let my guard down and limped down the hall, scanning for any sign of life but finding nothing except a small camera stationed in the far corner of the corridor that followed my every move. No doubt that shithead Oskar was on the other end of the screen. 

I flipped my finger up at the camera and moved out of sight of its stalking lens, pressing my earpiece in hopes I had some signal. “This is Erin Coen, can anyone read me? Liam?” 

The radio crackled in my ear until a voice broke through on the other end -though I couldn’t make out the words very well, it was definitely Liam. “Liam? You’re breaking up. I’m down on the ground floor -well, below it; I fell through the hole not far from the containers, somehow still alive.”

There was a long stretch of silence until his voice cut through a little clearer, a pained hitch in his breath, “Thank... fuck… Thought… Were dead… Foulseeker… Dead… Got me… On my way…. Now…” The line went quiet and my chest lightened; Oskar’s Tyrant abomination was down for the count and Liam was alive -probably not okay, but alive and breathing, and that was good enough for the both of us.

A long sigh left me as I slumped against the wall, scanning the hall in front of me once more before I pulled my gloves off and let my heavy, ripped, bloody jacket fall to the ground after wrestling it off, hissing and yelping when it jostled my most likely broken ribs. “Shit, damn…” If just taking my coat off felt that bad, then I’m dreading how bad the stab through my side is. 

I took a deep breath, checking the hall again, and carefully pulled the hem of my long sleeved sweater up to tuck under my bra, swallowing roughly at the suction-like feel and noise as it peeled away wetly, goosebumps rising as the cold air bit into my exposed skin. My teeth grit against the movement, the throbbing in my skull making my stomach roll with bile.

I cringed at the sight once I could fully see the expanse of my abdomen; the skin of my stomach coated in wet and dry crimson-brown, blood still leaking through the wound and soaking into my dark grey cargos, the wound puckered and raw and probably outlined in an angry red under the blood. I really hope it didn’t become infected… Or  _ I  _ became infected… That Chimera was fucking nasty. Above that my ribs were coloured in a rainbow of blotchy, dark bruises and a few scrapes; but short of a hospital there wasn’t much I could do besides binding them -not like it’d do much good until we were out of here.

I rummaged through a pack on my belt for a first aid spray, counting down from five with dread before applying it to the front and back of the wound, my yell echoing down the corridor. “Fuck! Fucking shit, asshole!” It took me a moment to regain my breath, sweat trickling down the side of my face until I reached back into the pack for a gauze and a roll of bandages, quickly pulling them around my abdomen and ribs tightly and tying the end off.

By the time the stinging burn wore off I was panting harshly, cold sweat trickling down my back and face; the salty droplets biting into the open skin around my eye, making me wince and almost miss the clunk of boots on the broken concrete above me. I felt my pulse pick up as I grabbed my gun, ignoring the sickening grind of bone in my side at the motion, and aimed down the corridor, hoping it wasn’t another one of Oskar’s fucked up experiments.

“Erin? Is that you?” A breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding whooshed from my lungs in relief, and I immediately lowered my rifle at the sound of Liam’s voice as he dropped himself down the hole with a grunt.

“Yeah…” I swallowed, wetting my dry throat and tried again. “Yeah, it’s me -you okay?” I noticed him jogging down the corridor clutching his stomach, his laboured breathing reaching my ears. “As okay as I can get after dealing with that motherfucker. I don’t know what that shitbag Oskar did to it, but it was a fucker of a Tyrant on steroids -and then some... Damn, girl, you look like hell.” He finally stood in front of me, eyeing my injuries as I did the same, taking in the blood soaking through his fingers as he held his stomach and the bullet-sized hole through the thigh of his cargos.

“ _ Thanks _ -you’re looking pretty shitty yourself. At least we’re alive and safe, for the time being at least.” I snarked, managing to crack a grin on his grimy face. “Here, let me patch you up -I have a feeling our new  _ friend _ is hiding underground, and he’s so  _ kindly _ opened the front door for us.” I motioned to the elevator doors behind us, still flashing green, and pulled the first aid spray from my pack once again. “We can’t wait around for backup. He might have an escape route somewhere, and there’s no telling what other monstrosities he has hidden or planning to unleash if we let him go; plus I already promised him we’d hunt him down.” I gently pulled his hand away from the wound and he sighed before lifting his jacket and shirt, grimacing as it pulled away from the tender skin. Looks like the Foulseeker’s claw sliced a clean cut across his stomach, from hip to hip; thankfully it wasn’t deep enough to cause major issues -I don’t think I could stomach seeing his entrails. I lowered myself down carefully into a crouch, taking a moment to breathe past the pain. “Hold still; this is going to sting like a bitch.” I didn’t give him any chance to reply as I sprayed the remedy over the large gash, hearing him hiss sharply, before grabbing a few gauze pads and another roll of bandages from the pouch on my belt and securing them around the wound, tying the end off tightly. 

“That’s the last of my bandages… Think you’ll manage with just the spray on your leg for now?” At his stiff nod, I shook the can and sprayed the last bit of ointment over the bullet hole in his thigh, dusting my hands off and grabbed my coat back off of the ground, easing back into it when I stood as Liam adjusted his own.

“As long as nothing chases us down again, then I should be fine. Thanks, Erin.” I nodded and pulled my gloves back on, grabbing my gun before beginning to make my way over to the elevator doors, his slightly limped footsteps sounding behind me as he followed. “By the way -how the fuck did you survive that fall? It must’ve been more than thirty foot up.” I snorted at the bewilderment in his voice, walking into the elevator while trying to work that out myself.

“Your guess is as good as mine -if it didn’t break my ribs, I would’ve said it was because I have strong bones. Clearly not.” My eyes flicked to the camera above us and I gave it a little wave, mouthing ‘still alive and kicking, dickhead’ just to rile that bastard Oskar up. Liam shuffled beside me with a, “Tough as fucking nails, that’s for sure,” as the doors closed behind us, and down we went.

**-x-x-x-**

Cold conditioned air blew at us as the elevator doors pinged open to an empty space leading to a large office-like room, almost completely scarce save for a few stray tables and one computer flashing on a desk to the side. I looked to Liam, seeing him give a small nod, before I made my way over to the monitor and pressed a few keys on the keyboard. Almost immediately Oskar’s smug face lit up the screen and I felt a scowl form on my own.

“I should have given you two much more credit for surviving so far! And you, missy, how on earth are you still standing after that fall? I’m so curious! But that will have to wait… Unfortunately for you, though, my Foulseeker is not dead.” My eyebrows furrowed over at Liam, his own pressed into a glare at the psycho on the other side of the screen.

“That fucker was taken down; I saw to it. Didn’t get back up after a few shotgun rounds and an incendiary grenade for good measure.” A giddy laugh came from Oskar with the sound of a keyboard tapping, before his face was replaced with footage of the Foulseeker jumping down the hole above and stalking the corridor towards the lift. “It’ll take more than that to stop him -but this is good, for the combat data; you’ll have to open a few doors that bring you further into my playground and survive my Foulseeker, as well as some more of my test subjects. There’s certain ways to open rooms, but… You’ll have to figure them out for yourselves. Just to be nice… I’ll open the first door. Good luck,  _ BSAA. _ ” The video feed went dead just as the door at the end of the room flashed green, and we wasted no time in going towards it despite what Oskar said. I levelled my gun and rounded the doorway, scoping the large room and finding no immediate threats. “All clear.”

“Be careful, we don’t know if he’s planted traps. I wouldn’t put it past that sneaky son-of-a-bitch when we’re not in top form, and we’re pressed for time -that freaky piece of shit is hot on our heels.” The doors behind us closed and lit up red; locked, but whether it was a trap triggered or the bastard giving us a handicap, I couldn’t tell. Either way, it gave us a little while longer to find out how to open the next door -and when we found Oskar, he was going to pay. 

We branched off from each other to check each side of the room, my eyes scanning over everything and anything that could be a clue -or a trap. But there was nothing, and from Liam’s hand signal from the other end of the room, he couldn’t find anything either.

“Shit.” I looked over at the new door a few steps away from me, sweat trickling down my back as bangs came from the locked room we came from; but something flashing by the door caught my attention. “Liam, I think I found it!” 

I nearly bashed my hip against a stray desk as I rushed over to the door, a small screen adjacent and flashing words -a riddle. 

“What does it say?” Liam breathed from behind me.

“ _ I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have oceans, but no water. I have deserts, but no sand. What am I? _ Is he fucking kidding… We have to solve riddles when his damn monster is ready to bash down the fucking door to kill us?” I gaped at the screen and ran a hand through my ponytailed hair in frustration, wracking my brain for an answer.

“We need to keep a cool head to solve this -don’t think about anything else, just the question.” A glare was all Liam got in response and he had the gall to look sheepish. “Right, not helping.”

I ignored him in favour of scanning over the words again, my brain clicking into overdrive -it focuses on things that are missing; houses, trees, water, and sand; all four having nothing in common. The things it does have, cities, mountains, oceans, deserts -they all have different names all over the world. But not one of them, in my knowledge, shares a name with one another -unless it aims to confuse us by focusing on that alone. I need to think outside the box, something inanimate… Cities, mountains, oceans, deserts -things that if you look up, with a name for each, will appear on a map… A map!

“I figured it out.” He peered over my shoulder at my sudden exclamation as I quickly typed the word on the screen, the light above the door flashing to green at the correct answer.

“Let’s go!” The door swished open to a long corridor and my gun was up at the first sound of rushing steps just as we walked in; another Hunter running towards us with vigor. I opened fire into its face as it screamed, Liam pumping shotgun shells at the open flesh until it crashed down with a dying screech that was drowned out by the other set of doors behind us crashing open, the Foulseeker locking onto our forms with burning eyes and a few restraints unlocked.

“I really hope back-up is here by now, this is  _ definitely _ more than we can tackle on our own!” We ran further down the corridor with no signs of the door closing behind us and my pulse skyrocketed; the Foulseeker upping its pace until it came charging towards us with a roar. 

“Fuck, this thing needs heavy firepower to take down…!” Liam yelled, firing a shot into the things head that only seemed to aggravate it further, much less damage it. “There’s not enough room to fight it here, we need to get through to the next room!” 

I chanced a glance behind me to the dim end of the hall, seeing the green above the door and wasting no time in grabbing Liam’s arm and hauling him off, gritting my teeth as my ribs jarred from running. “Next door’s already open, let’s go!” 

Nothing met us on the other side of the door, which I was thankful for; but with the Foulseeker hot on our heels it was short lived. Though from the looks of it, the place was- is an underground loading bay with stockpiles of flammable kegs and a few vehicles we took cover behind -plenty of things to work with if the going gets tough. “I’ll buy you some time to find the next door, see if it has to be opened; if I don’t meet up with you in ten minutes go on without me. You’re a quicker thinker than me in tight spots.” Liam huffed, reloading his shotgun just as the Foulseeker marched in. Its eyes swept over the dim space in search of us, its twisted mouth pulling into a snarl before it lifted its gatling-like gun and opened fire on the trucks beside us. “Go, hurry! I’ll distract it as much as I can!”

“Don’t you dare fucking die on me, Liam!” I hissed as he rounded the van we crouched behind and caught the Foulseeker’s attention, giving me a chance to sneak away. Gunshots and angry roars echoed, my teeth sinking into my lip harshly; hoping back-up made it here fast, and with heavier firepower before one of us was killed.

I jogged until a set of controls caught my eye, a flashing screen with writing blinking up at me along with a picture of a distorted map, “ _ Congratulations, you answered the first riddle correctly. The next step is piecing the map together -like a puzzle. On the wall you’ll find it. Mind the traps if you get it wrong -good luck~! _ ”

“‘Good luck’? Oh you’re going to be needing it once we find you, shitbird.” Just as he said, a large map board set up like puzzle pieces appeared on the wall in front of the control panel, which I guessed is what I’d have to use to move the pieces. I took a deep breath and let it out through my nose, concentrating on the neon coloured puzzle before me and not the deadly Tyrant hounding on my partner. 

It seemed somewhat simple and complicated at the same time; if I knew the layout of the facility, it would be a piece of cake, but only knowing the rooms we’d just come from made it a lot harder. I let out another breath and moved the pieces I did know together -the different coloured rooms matching colours in a sign I took was correct, and flicked my eyes up to the other unknown pieces. Corridors joined to other rooms made it a bit easier, as it was just matching up a route with another… I could do this. 

Around five to ten minutes passed before I set the last piece of puzzle together, the whole thing lighting up a pale green save for a large room highlighted red, with the screen flashing another  _ congratulations _ that had me scoffing at the ridiculousness of it all. A door to my right pinged open revealing another elevator shaft, and I hoped this damn facility didn’t go down much further -nothing good came out of underground facilities that went hundreds of meters down, at least, not from the stories I’d heard from Chris and Claire. I checked around me for any sign of my partner but found nothing except uneasy silence.

“Come on Liam… I’m not leaving without you.” 

Just as the words left my mouth I heard gunfire from the entrance before an explosion rocked across the room, sending over a wave of heat that burned my eyes and blinded me from the flaming Foulseeker flying towards me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can probably tell I've been playing a bit too much Resident Evil 3, what with the Foulseeker being a somewhat similar idea to Nemesis, though it won't be as bad -or will it? I hope you enjoyed the chapter; their mission should be over next chapter, no promises, and then I can start bringing Piers into the picture.

**Author's Note:**

> My first Resident Evil works. The first few chapters may be slow and not exactly part of the Resident Evil 6 story-line, which I will be leading up to, but please bear with me as I feel this is necessary for you to get a 'feel' of my OC, Erin Coen, before I plunge her straight into the main story-line.   
> Let me know what you think :)


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